Beginning in 1910, Catholic nuns took over a health resort on the edge of Sylvan Lake. They operated Sylvan Springs as a spiritual health spa offering spring water treatments, exercise, nutrition and herbal remedies to cure TB and host of other afflictions.

Sufferers bathed in the springs, drank the waters, and prayed for relief in the chapel and outdoor shrine. One of the nuns claimed the Virgin Mary appeared to her, attracting even more visitors. Some attribute startling cures to Sylvan Springs, and people still make pilgrimages, even though the nuns sold Sylvan Springs in 1976. The Way International, a religious group that some consider a cult, operated a college there for 20 years.

The Neoclassical main sanitarium, enlarged with additions over many decades, includes 248 guest rooms and an attached chapel. Cottages, barns and other outbuildings remain from the time when a farm on the property produced the herbs and food for the sisters and their guests. Foreclosed by a lender, Sylvan Springs faces an uncertain future with roofs that need attention soon.